A whirlwind couple of days…

We shared your concerns at the Works Notice HS2 issued the day before we met with Align, mentioning tree felling. We were worried as we hadn’t seen Align’s designs for the crossing of Leather Lane since September.

Following our meeting with Align and HS2 on Wednesday we are satisfied that in producing the latest design, Align have done everything they can to minimise tree loss. The current Align design will require tree work on a tiny number of Category A Oak trees (we can’t be more specific sorry!). It is a significant improvement to the designs presented last year and proves that Align have finally adhered to the mitigation hierarchy.

We should note that Align have produced 20 plus iterations of their design. We are grateful to Align that they engaged with us and continued to listen and take on board our suggestions (such as for example tree maintenance as an alternative to felling).

Without our perseverance and the support give to our campaign by members of Bucks Council, Great Missenden and The Lee Parish Councils, the Landscape Officer from Chiltern National Landscapes, our Ecologist and Arboreal Consultants, The Chiltern Society, Chesham and Great Missenden Villages Boards, The Great Missenden Village Association, The Woodland Trust, and most most importantly all of our fantastic supporters we would definitely not be in this position today.

There is however more work to do to ensure that mitigation is in place for the trees already lost and those to be lost in coming weeks, both for our bats and other wildlife using this vital wildlife corridor. We need to ensure that it remains in place during the construction works, expected later this year. We also continue with plans to create a conservation area and are in discussions with various bodies in order to put that in place.

We are a small group of volunteers and we wouldn’t be able to achieve what we have without all your support. We can’t say thank you enough!

Please donate HERE